Greetings from Mexico, where I am holed up in my secret undisclosed location finishing the first draft of my second novel. I have been here for two weeks. The book is coming along very nicely, thank you. I will try to sell it to you on some other occasion when it is more finished.
I’ve been taking breaks from writing by swimming, going for long walks, snorkeling, kayaking, chatting with the neighbors. I take a break whenever my neck and shoulders start to get stiff from sitting in my chair and typing or whenever I need an idea to move the story forward. I also have been taking breaks by furtively reading this blog and commenting occasionally. Which brings me to what I wanted to say to you, my fellow Dharmaniacs.
Have you noticed how very sad, how very down, how very depressed we are these days? Every day seems to bring another reason for sustained depression. Yes, we’re still angry about some things, but forgive me if I say so, mostly we’re depressed and sad and beaten down. We feel, if I may characterize it so, as if we were thrown under a bus. It’s easy to understand why. Is there a public option? Will the uninsured ever be insured? Is there a prosecution of torturers? Is there an end to the hate spewed by various commentators? Is there more and more war in Afghanistan, Iraq? Is there peace anywhere? Can the President tell kids to stay in school? Can the Congresspeople throw off their reptilian bodies and speak the truth? About anything? Forgive me for not finishing the list. It’s too extensive. And far, far too depressing for a detailed enumeration.
If I were in the US, maybe our rhetoric would still seem normal to me. Maybe it would be more of the same, what happens to progressives when, having elected the president, they are unable to get his ear. And why can’t progressives get his ear? Let’s not unwind that all over again. From here, in Mexico, what I am reading seems to be our lingering despair. And under that, perhaps some seething anger. But mostly, what I’m reading imo is our collective sadness.
I have no idea what the remedy for this pervasive malaise might be. As Gurdjieff once wrote (pardon ugly paraphrasing), “This first step to breaking out of prison is to recognize that you’re confined.” So I think the first step might be to acknowledge how very deeply disappointed we are. Maybe that’s a first step.
I didn’t want to be the canary in this particular coal mine. But I did want to tell you about the fumes.
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Thanks for reading.
I’ve just had some grumpy days during my bout with Unicorn flu. Getting over it now, back to harvesting and processing grapes, apples, pumpkins and the rest of the garden produce, started on the winter wood supply.
To be greatly disappointed one would have to harbor great expectations. In the realm of politics I harbor none. That way if ever something good were to happen, I can be pleasantly surprised.
Avoid TV
Get out in the sun
Know that at least on person in the know calls Obama “the shineboy” and that meaning DOES NOT refer in the racial sense but does mean in the Manchurian candidate sense.
Allegory of the 21st Century Electronic Cave.
Just as exercise is an essential element of individual mental health, organization is an essential element for the collective mental health of a group of people with a concern for public affairs.
You are correct, I think. There seems to be a slowing down, a turning inward from the saddness and disappointment once again. Yet the introspection is to examine, to find a new, a better way.
maybe it’s time to take a break. Whatever “we” are doing is not working. Any ideas that come from the left are invisible in popular culture and therefore “debates” become staged like professional wrestling bouts. The depression comes from not knowing what to do. We don’t meet face to face but online which is fundamentally unsatisfying. This medium is good for exchanging ideas but does not seem effective at actually creating community or instigating real action.
Other than that, in a general sense we lack connection even when we are offline–not just us but Americans as a whole. We need a lot of drugs to keep the smiles in place.
Yes, Gurdjieff can show the way–we are not only locked in society’s prison but, more importantly, in our own inner prison we have identified as our very self. It is not. There is a deeper self that is beyond our usual conception of “I” and it cannot be found without a major jihad. The “Work” as Gurdjieff termed it is not only an important requirement for personal liberation (and there are many paths to this work) but for cultural and political transformation as well. Without this struggle we will never become effective and strong enough to deal with the major problems we face in our lives.